Thursday, January 19, 2012

A Letter to MyHotShoes

I was incredibly pleased with my recent purchase from you: a pair of knee-high boots with buckles and zippers and laces all over. I felt like the most fashionable pirate on the high seas (or in my case, the Great Lakes). I kept discovering wonderful new things about them, and - ask any of my friends or family - repeatedly lauded their greatness.

Now. You're based in California, so I understand (in a way) your not knowing what winter is like for us Midwestern folk. Allow me to explain. Here, we get snow. Snow is wet. Snow melts sometimes, and becomes ice. Ice is slippery. In such hazardous conditions, it is a good idea to have sturdy, reliable footwear.

Not this crap that you refer to as "boots."

And now for your closeup.﻿

Let me tell you about the excellent craftmanship you worked into these plastic soles, since you obviously put no soul into them yourselves. Note the six holes around the perimeter of the heel. By the time the base of the heel fell off the first time, only two of those were left unbroken. Two, about half a centimeter in diameter - hardly sufficient to keep a boot heel in place for very long. Which is why I was less than surprised (but still incredibly pissed) to discover, just a few days later, that I'd completely lost the base of my heel in a parking lot.

When I was on my way out of town for a weekend.

With no working shoes. In winter.

So thank you, from the bottom of my cold little feet. I'd hoped these boots would at least last me one season - and considering I bought them in late November and did not wear them every day, they should have. Now, I am forced to rely on my old boots, which are cracked, ripped, and punctured in so many ways that they are drafty and no longer waterproof. I've got those and my sneakers to get me through.

(As you may recall my mentioning, it snows here. Sneakers don't quite keep fresh snow out, especially when there are several inches of it on the ground. Also, they're as waterproof as a paper bag.)

I am therefore requesting a refund, which should pay for my taking these sorry excuses for footwear to a cobbler to have them re-soled. (I understand the idea of boots for the purpose of fashion, but these would make you slip and fall on sandpaper. And how fashionable can you be in something so poorly made?)

I do still love the style - I'm just incredibly disappointed in the quality of the item I carefully selected and paid for.

Sincerely,
A former customer who will not be a customer again,
Allison